The cut-price Champions League winner Aston Villa could steal in blockbuster January transfer raid

Aston Villa’s transfer market preference under Unai Emery has been for established, experienced, recognisable players from Youri Tielemans to Donyell Malen via Ross Barkley and Amadou Onana and plus stardust loanees like Marcus Rashford, and fans could be welcoming another top flight veteran with four Champions League medals to his name in the January window.

Those players are just the tip of the iceberg and while those more expensive purchases left Villa in trouble this summer, it’s broadly been a successful strategy that has helped them move from a relegation battle to the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

Despite their issues with Profit and Sustainability Rules, The Villains doubled down on this in the most recent transfer window by making Evann Guessand their marquee permanent signing and replacing Rashford and Marco Asensio with fresh loanees Jadon Sancho and Harvey Elliott plus veteran free agents Victor Lindelof and everyone's favourite, Marco Bizot. Monchi, who oversaw the wheelings and dealings at Villa Park for the last two years, has now departed and it wouldn't be a surprise to see a slight change to the profile given his replacement is Roberto Olabe.

Olabe previously enjoyed great success as Real Sociedad’s director of football, flipping Alexander Isak, Robin Le Normand, Mikel Merino and most recently Martin Zubimendi for a combined €214 million (£189m) of sales. So Aston Villa could well start targeting more players with the potential to turn into superstars under Olabe’s watch - that’s his bread and butter and surely a big part of what convinced the club to hire him at such a pivotal time.

However, they’ll still have room for those superstar additions at the right price, and that could be Mateo Kovacic in January.

Kovacic can help Emery take next step

Kovacic has been beset by injuries this season, only playing 37 minutes of football amid problems with his ankle and achilles. His current absence will last beyond the end of the upcoming transfer window, but that doesn’t necessarily rule out a January move and Kovacic hasn’t historically been an injury-prone player.

What he has been for seven seasons is a key player in two European champions and Emery would love to bring that expertise to Villa Park. The logical next step for the Midlanders is to become a confident possession-based side after they were slap bang in the middle of the pack for average share of the ball last season - 10th in the Premier League at 50.6%.

They’re already up to fifth at 54% this campaign though the jury is still out on whether that will yield better results than last season given the rollercoaster few months in B6, and Kovacic would help The Villans take a big step. Despite his fitness issues, he remains in the top quintile of midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues for progressive passes and carries and the top 6% for pass completion rate and non-penalty goals.

Kovacic’s defensive work is consistently underrated but he remains as sturdy as ever out of possession which, coupled with his ability to drive upfield before releasing a pinpoint pass to a player running in behind makes him the perfect midfielder for Aston Villa - and really any top team outside of his current employers and a handful of other superclubs. But therein lies part of the issue - if Kovacic is on the market, Villa will be far from the only interested party.

Will Aston Villa take the Kovacic gamble?

With Kovacic’s contract at the Etihad expiring in 2027, CaughtOffside’s Mark Brus reports The Citizens are open to fielding offers for the Croatian. But while Manchester City’s price tag of £15 million likely wouldn’t be a major obstacle for Aston Villa, Kovacic’s reported £150,000 per week wages could be.

That would make him Aston Villa’s joint-second highest earner level with Morgan Rogers and Emi Martinez among others according to Capology, while he will have plenty of suitors who are willing to meet his current salary.

Marcelo Brozovic and Ivan Rakitic are two of Kovacic’s international teammates who have already cashed in by moving to Saudi Arabia and even if he doesn’t want to move to move that far afield, the 31-year-old will field offers from a AC Milan, Villarreal and a host of other Champions League-calibre clubs. Thinking about it, Kovacic feels like an extremely AC Milan player already.

However, he’s lived in England for the entirety of his children's lives and is clearly settled in the country as his wife pursues her fashion career. Playing for Aston Villa would allow him to continue that settled family life in a way that even a move to West Ham - another interested party - wouldn’t.

Though this partnership would be a risk for both parties, a move down the M6 to B6 would certainly suit the Croatian’s personal life while Kovacic’s expertise and continued quality could help Villa not only return to Europe’s top table, but become a consistent force in the top quarter of the Premier League.